Surfacing



May 24, 1938. T. RoBmso 2,118,526

SURFACING Filed Dec. 16, 1935' gYghlalNfiNTOR & I falgflmglm jwu ATTORNEYS Patented May 24, 1938 l v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SURFACING Thomas Robinson, Smithtown, N. Y., assignor to Lancaster Processes, 'Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of NewlYork Application December 16, 1935, Serial No. 54,643 '7 Claims. -(CI. 91-68) This invention relates to surfacings such as granular material is applied in such quantities are employed on shingles of felt, wood, and metal, that a layer of granules appears on the top of and as a coating for pipes and plain or corruthe coating with the exposed surfaces of the grangated metal sheets. More particularly, the inules uncoated by asphalt. Thereafter, upon vention is conerned with a novel surfacing which evaporation of the solvent, there remains an as- 5 includes granular material held in place on the phalt film loaded with granules and silica and object to be surfaced by a bituminous adhesive, having an exposed surface of granules strongly and a new method by which such a surfacing can bound in place by an asphalt film. be applied rapidly and at low cost. In applying the new surfacing, it is desirable The surfacing ofthe invention offers special to insure that the granular material will settle 10 advantages when employed in the manufacture into the coating, and this result can best be i of roofing elements, such as shingles made of obtained by vibrating the articles to be surfaced plastic compositions or saturated felt. For purafter the application of the granular material poses of explanation, therefore, the application thereto. For this purpose, various forms of of the invention to the surfacing of such shingles apparatus may be employed. After the appli- 15 will be describedin detail, but it is to be undercation of the granular material, and the settling stood that the utility of the invention is not limof the granules thereof into the asphalt film, the t d to h Surfacing of 811011 P uct but is particles become effectively bonded when the applicable to many others. solvent evaporates. In order to recover the Prepared roofing consisting of a body of rag solvent, it is preferably evaporated in a chamber 20 or asbestos felt saturated with asphalt has been into which warm air is introduced and exhausted,

C y surfaced coated heretofore y the the solvent being then recovered from the air application to the surface of the felt of a layer current in the usual way.

of molten asphalt of the desired melt point. For a better understanding of the invention, This layer of asphalt is applied by advancing the reference may be had to the accompanying draw- 25 sheet through a coating mechanism, after which ing, in which suitable apparatus for practicing the coated sheet is passed beneath a hopper and a the new method is disclosed. In the drawing,

layer of the granules of surfacing material, such Figures 1 and 2 are plan and elevational views,

as crushed slate, is distributed over the coating. respectively, of the coating apparatus; 80 The sheet then passes between rolls which partly Figures 3 and 4 are top plan and longitudinal '30 embed the granules in the coating so that when sectional views, respectively, of the apparatus the coating hardens and sets, the embedded for extracting the solvent; and

granules are anchored in position. Figure 5 is a sectional view through an-object While this method of surfacing is widely used, provided with the new surfacing. it is not wholly satisfactory because the surface In carrying on the new method, the articles 35 so produced is not fire-resistant, and the asphalt l0 tobe surfaced, which may, for example, be, layer will run upon application of a flame of roofing elements, such as shingles, are placed on relatively low temperature. Also, the granules a conveyor ii and passed beneath a distributing are not securely anchored in place and become nozzle II, by which cut-back asphalt is applied dislodged, both in the handling of the material thereto. The entire surfaces of the elements may 40 and during its use. 4 be coated, or if desired, and as shown, the as- The present invention is, accordingly, directed phalt is directed by the nozzle on portions only to the provision of a novel surfacing which is of the elements. superior to those heretofore used in that it is of The asphalt used may be, for example, blown better appearance, of greater durability, has an or oxidized asphalt of 180 F. melt point, cut- 45 increased fire resistance, and is less susceptible back with an equal weight of gasoline, and the to temperature changes. According to the incut-back has mixed with it about 20% of its vention, the article to be surfaced is first coated weight of diatomaceous earth. The 'mixture is with a high melt point oxidized asphalt which has applied to the elements to form a coating which been cut back with a volatile solvent and filled may be, for example, about thick. 50

with an inorganic material, such as amorphous After the shingles are thus coated, they are silica. Over this coating, granules of the decarried along by the conveyor beneatha dissired surfacing material are spread before the tributing hopper l3 containing the desired granusolvent evaporates, so that the granules settle lar surfacing material which may be, for examinto the coating and are thoroughly coated. The ple, crushed slate or quartz, or any of the other 55 v of the introfying action of the solvent, the asphalt.

granular surfacings commonly used for the purpose. The hopper is provided with a distributing mechanism of the usual sort to insure the application of an even layer of the granular material to the shingles, and beneath the hopper is a vibrating device ll of standard construction which causes the conveyor with the elements thereon to vibrate up and down at a rapid rate. The granular material then settles into the asphalt film both by its own weight and as a result of the action of the vibrator. The solvent present acts as an introfier, aiding the asphalt to wet the granules effectively so that they are effectively bonded in place. The vibration also insures that'the granules will be closely packed together.

The amount of the granular material employed is such that the granules fill the asphalt film and provide a top layer, the exposed surfaces of which are uncoated by the asphalt. The appearance of the finished coating is thus determined by the color characteristics of the granules employed.

Upon leaving the corr'veyor H, the coated shingles are treated to extract the solvent from the asphalt film, and for this purpose, the shingles may be passed on conveyors l5 through a, cham ber Hi to which hot air is supplied by a pipe H, the air being directed against the surface of the shingles on the conveyors by nozzle I8. The hot air is introduced into the extracting chamber at one end thereof, and at the other end are exhaust pipes l9 connected to a blower 20.

On emerging from the extracting apparatus,

the asphalt film has hardened and set to a con-.

siderable degree, and the surface layer on the shingles has the form illustrated in Figure 5. In this view, the shingle 2| is shown as provided with a film 22 of asphalt into which granules 23 have been submerged, wholly or in part. The asphalt contains the particles 24 of finely divided siliceous material which lie in the small bodies of asphalt between adjacent granules. By reason has been caused to wet the granules thoroughly so that the asphalt adheres firmly thereto and bonds the granules strongly in place. The exposed surface of the coating consists primarily of the granular material and its color, therefore, depends on the color of the granules employed.

While the application of the new surfacing has been describedas involving the spraying of the cut-back on the surface to be coated, it is to be understood that the adhesive material may be applied in other ways, as by brushing. Also, the extraction of the solvent in the manner described is not necessary since the solvent will naturally evaporate, but the use of an extracting apparatus is preferred because it permits the solvent to be recovered.

The new surfacing can be used for many purposes, as, for example, on shingles of felt, wood, and metal, and as a coating for pipes and on plain or corrugated metal sheets, particularly those which must be bent after having been coated. The coating is cheap and easy to apply, and it has a long life since the use of the solvent insures that the asphalt will thoroughly wet the granules and effectively bond them in place.

I claim:

1. A method of surfacing an article which comprises coating the article with a fluent mixture consisting of a relatively high melt point oxidized asphalt, an added, cut-back, volatile solvent for the asphalt, and finely divided inorganic filler, distributing granular material over the coating so formed, and vibrating the article to cause the granular material to sink into the coating.

2. A method of coating an article which comprises coating the article with a fluent mixture consisting of a relatively high melt point oxidized asphalt, an added, cut-back, volatile solvent for the asphalt, and finely divided inorganic filler, distributing granular surfacing material over the coating so formed, and vibrating the article to cause the granular material to sink into the coating except for a surface layer of the granular material, the particles of which are only par- .tially embedded in the coating.

3. A method of surfacing an article which comprises coating the article with a fluent mixture consisting of a relatively high melt point oxidized asphalt, gasolene for cutting back the asphalt, and amorphous silica as a filler, distributing granular surfacing material over the coating so formed, and causing the granular material to sink into the coating.

4. A coated article which comprises a base and a coating thereon, said coating consisting of a film formed by evaporation of solvent from a fluent mixture consisting of a relatively high melt point oxidized asphalt, an added, cut-back, volatile solvent for the asphalt, and a finely divided inorganic filler, and granular material, certain of the granules of which are submerged in said film, the others being partially embedded in said film and providing an exposed granular surface on said film.

5. A coated article which comprises a base and a coating thereon, said coating consisting of a film formed by evaporation of solvent from a fluent mixture consisting'of a relatively high melt point oxidized asphalt, an added, cut-back, volatile solvent for the asphalt, and about 20% by weight of a finely divided inorganic filler, and granular material, certain of the granules of which are submerged in said film, the remaining granules being partially embedded in said film and providing an exposed granular surface.

6. A coated article which comprises a base and a coating thereon, said coating consisting of a film formed by evaporation of solvent from a fluent mixture consisting of oxidized asphalt of approximately F. melt point, an added, cutback, volatile solvent for the asphalt, and about 20% by weight of amorphous silica distributed therethrough as a filler, and granular material, certain of the granules of which are submerged in said film, the remaining granules being partially embedded in said film and providing an exposed granular surface.

7. A coated article which comprises a base and a coating thereon, said coating consisting of a film of relatively high melt point oxidized asphalt, an added, cut-back, volatile solvent for the asphalt, about 20% by weight of diatomaceous earth distributed therethrough as a filler, andcrushed slate, certain of the granules of which are submerged in said film, the remaining granules being partially embedded in said film and roviding an exposed granular surface.

THOMAS ROBINSON. 

